OnePlus is selecting 10 applicants for the Lab programme of the OnePlus 6T

Highlights

OnePlus has expanded its Lab programme to OnePlus 6T

Select participants will get the new phone ahead of its public launch

Separately, in-display fingerprint scanner has been teased

Ahead of its formal debut, OnePlus 6T could be in your hands through the Lab programme by OnePlus. The Shenzhen-based company has revived the initiative — originally launched back in May 2016 — to give select customers early access to OnePlus 6T. Interested buyers need to apply for the programme to use the upcoming OnePlus flagship before its launch and write a detailed community review. The company will select 10 applicants to be amongst the first ones in the world to receive a review unit of the OnePlus 6T. The smartphone is expected to launch on October 17, according to a leaked India invite with a few improvements over the OnePlus 6. Among other new features, a fresh teaser by the company reiterated the new OnePlus model's in-display fingerprint scanner.

The registration window for The Lab OnePlus 6T Edition is open until 9pm HKT (6.30pm IST) on October 8. All you need to do is to fill a form with the required details to participate in the programme. OnePlus will select 10 participants who will get the chance to use the OnePlus 6T before its public release. "Once selected, we'll send you a review unit of the OnePlus 6T, and you'll be amongst the first ones to receive the OnePlus 6T all over the world," the OnePlus team said in a forum post.

It is worth pointing out that OnePlus will accept entries only in English, and you'll be required to share your unboxing impressions and an in-depth review with the OnePlus community after receiving the OnePlus 6T unit. Moreover, the company reserves the right to contact more than 10 participants for additional review purposes during the selection period.

As we mentioned, this isn't the first time when OnePlus is hosting the Lab programme to give early access to its upcoming flagship. The company hosted the first edition of its Lab programme in May 2016, at the time of preparing the launch of the OnePlus 3. Earlier this year, the Lab OnePlus 6 Edition was also announced to give select customers a chance to experience the OnePlus 6.

Alongside announcing the Lab programme, OnePlus has released a new teaser video that suggests the presence of an in-display fingerprint sensor on the OnePlus 6T. The five-second-long video shows the hexagonal "T" logo and flashes a message that reads, "Unlock The Future." This points to the advanced fingerprint recognition technology that has already been deployed on smartphones by companies such as Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi among others. Also, a screenshot recently shared by OnePlus highlighted how the in-display fingerprint scanner will look like on the lockscreen of the OnePlus 6T.

If we believe some recent reports, the OnePlus 6T will have a 6.4-inch Optic AMOLED display with the same, full-HD+ resolution as on the OnePlus 6. The smartphone is also expected to come with a Snapdragon 845 SoC, coupled with 6GB/ 8GB RAM options and up to 256GB of onboard storage. A recent leak has suggested that the OnePlus 6T will come with a 3,700mAh battery that will be larger than the 3,300mAh battery available on the OnePlus 6. The company is set to ditch a 3.5mm headphone jack to make space for the larger battery pack.